Asian countries are not homogenous. They are in different stages of social and economic development, with cultural conditions and institutional and legal frameworks varying from one country to another. Therefore, how water can be successfully managed differs from one country to another. The book provides authoritative analyses of how water is being managed in different Asian countries, ranging from the world 's most populous countries like China and India to a city state like Singapore and an island country like Fiji. It also analyses in depth several wide ranging issues like terrorism, human rights, water-energy nexus, and roles of media, along with comprehensive discussions of legal, institutional and regulatory frameworks in an Asian water management context. The overall focus is on how water can be managed efficiently, cost-effectively and equitably in various Asian countries.

All except for three papers, were originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Development.

Darrell M. West explores leadership and and coalition-building in the 1980 presidential campaign. Concentrating upon the candidates' own perceptions of the need to build coalitions that will elect them, he raises questions that go to the heart of presidential politics: how have changes in presidential campaigns influenced candidate strategies? what coalitions did presidential contenders try to put together? how did the candidates use rhetoric, campaign travel, and symbolism in their coalition building? what did candidates learn from their audiences in their months and years on the campaign trail? what do these lessons imply for political leadership and coalition building? To answer these questions, he draws on interviews with ninety advisors to candidates and on data taken from the candidates' travels and speeches, press coverage, and audience reactions. His findings reveal a surprising consistency in the approach to building an electoral majority.

In this collection, academics from both sides of the Atlantic analyze the confluence of a politician, a process, and a problem - Barack Obama, the 2008 US presidential election, and the 'problem' of race in contemporary America. The special focus falls upon Barack Obama himself, who appears in many guises: as an individual from biracial and transnational backgrounds; a skilled, urban African-American organizer and then politician; and as intellectual and author of a bestselling autobiographical exploration.

There is a certain representative quality about Obama that makes him a convenient way into the labyrinth of American race relations, national and regional politics (including the South and Hawaii), and past history (particularly from the 1960s to the present). Contributors also explore the role Michelle Obama has played in this process, both separately from and together with her husband, while one theme running through many chapters concerns the myriad ways that the American left, right and centre differ on the nature and future of race in a country that daily becomes more mixed in ethnic and racial terms. Race is everywhere; race is nowhere. The essays are grouped by their approach to the topic of Obama and race: via historical analysis, cultural studies, political science and sociology, as well as pedagogy. The result is an exciting mix of perspectives on one of the most fascinating phenomena of our time.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the journal Patterns of Prejudice.

Russia is the world's largest country, and its politics affect the entire international community. Formally, who exercises the power of government is decided, as in Western democracies, by competitive elections that are held at regular intervals. But there have increasingly been doubts about the extent to which Russian parliamentary and presidential elections can be considered 'free and fair', and it is the argument of this coauthored study that they are better defined as 'authoritarian elections', with a number of distinct characteristics. Using a wide range of sources, including surveys, election statistics, interviews, focus groups and the printed press, the contributors to this important collection analyse Russia's authoritarian elections in a variety of ways: how they are conducted, what citizens think about them, and how the Russian experience relates to a wider international context. Elections are the central mechanism by which citizens can seek to hold their government to account; this collection shows the ways in which that mechanism can be manipulated from above such it becomes more of an extension of central authority than a means by which the public at large can impose their own priorities. This book was originally published as a special issue of Europe-Asia Studies.

The 2010 general election was the most eagerly awaited contest in Britain since 1997. With opinion polls showing a closing gap between the parties, the result was uncertain right up to polling day. In the end, the election was particularly noteworthy for three reasons. First of all, there were televised debates between leaders of the three largest parties. This idea has long been called for, but for a variety of reasons they had not occurred in Britain until 2010. Now they are here, they are almost certainly here to stay. Secondly, the election led to the end of thirteen years of Labour rule. Just as the 1964 and the 1997 elections had delivered the final blows to long-standing one party government, so 2010 did the same. What made 2010 particularly significant however was that, unlike 1964 or 1997, no single party assumed the reins of power. Thirdly, although the Conservatives ended up as the largest party by some margin, they were still some twenty seats short of a majority of just one. Not since the election of February 1974 had the result failed to produce a majority government in the Commons, and before that, we would have to go back to 1929 to find a similar outcome. This book features high quality and data-rich examinations of the election. It is intended for audiences who want to go beyond a simple description of the election towards an enhanced understanding of why the election turned out the way it did. This book was published as a special edition of Journal of Elections, Public Opinion & Parties.

A long-held belief of political scientists is that moderate voices in the Senate act as power brokers between the ideological poles, yet year after year we see partisan gridlock in Congress. Some even argue that the shrinking number of moderates only increases their political influence. In Life in the Middle, Neilan S. Chaturvedi argues that the belief in the powerful, pivotal moderate neglects their electoral circumstances and overestimates their legislative power. In other words, not all Senators are elected under equal circumstances. Chaturvedi posits that, unlike their ideological counterparts who are elected from states that share an ideological identity, moderates are elected from one of two constituencies: states that have a partisan lean to one party but have enough "swing voters" to vote in a moderate from the opposite party, or states that are nearly evenly divided in terms of partisanship. Using unique interview data with legislative directors, retired United States Senators, and data compiled from the Congressional Record, Chaturvedi shows that, because of their precarious electoral circumstances, moderate senators must avoid active participation on bills and pushing controversial legislation. Lawmaking is much more variable and less moderating than previous theories assumed, as the process relies less on the work of moderates and more on party leaders. The book also demonstrates that mainstream concerns about polarization and its negative effects of increased gridlock and ideological legislation are true.

This work deals with the public policy-making process in contemporary Japan which testifies a new dictum: "The various phases of the policy process cause politics". The analytical focus is threefold, encompassing: the policy-making process on the national level; elections and the policy-making process; and the regional policy and decision-making. These analyses offer a number of comparative data on Japanese politics. The text also tries to interpret the basic pattern of Japanese politics, which contributes to an understanding of the dynamic aspects of the political process and political economy after the Second World War.

For decades, elections in many parts of the Middle East were a forgone conclusion. They came and went with little fanfare as many knew that results were predetermined in the offices and corners of state security buildings in Cairo, Damascus, Tehran, and Tunisia. No wonder that most citizens did not care to participate or take part in such theatrical displays. The Arab uprisings that toppled entrenched autocrats have changed this. Voters flocked to the polls to cast their votes and choose their rulers. This book explores the dynamics of elections in the Middle East and their impact on democratization processes. It combines overview chapters with individual studies of Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey.

Germany's landmark 1998 election saw for the first time in the Republic's fifty-year historyan incumbent Chancellor and his entire government replaced. In this collection fourteen distinguished scholars, from both sides of the Atlantic, have come together to give the first detailed scholarly account of this historic event. From a variety of perspectives the essays, based on in-depth interviews, explore the election candidates, parties, and issues, and places them within the context of the Federal Republic's history, the end of the Bonn Republic and the beginning of the Berlin Republic. Special chapters focus on the growing importance of women inelectoral politics, voting behavior and the influence of the media, and the significance of the election for the European Union. Based on in-depth interviews with political leaders and extensive field research this book is ideally suited for specialists in German and European politics and the interested reader who wants far more depth of coverage than the main stream media can provide.

Elections and Democratization in Ukraine analyses the role of competitive elections in the Ukraine's crucial democratic transition period of 1989 to 1998, focusing on how Ukrainian voters make vote choices and which electoral cleavages are most important. Contrary to those who claim that the Soviet Union left in its wake an atomized society with weak social divisions, this study argues that the Ukrainian electorate has from the advent of competitive elections exhibited relatively stable voting behaviour.

Germany's landmark 1998 election saw for the first time in the Republic's fifty-year historyan incumbent Chancellor and his entire government replaced. In this collection fourteen distinguished scholars, from both sides of the Atlantic, have come together to give the first detailed scholarly account of this historic event. From a variety of perspectives the essays, based on in-depth interviews, explore the election candidates, parties, and issues, and places them within the context of the Federal Republic's history, the end of the Bonn Republic and the beginning of the Berlin Republic. Special chapters focus on the growing importance of women inelectoral politics, voting behavior and the influence of the media, and the significance of the election for the European Union. Based on in-depth interviews with political leaders and extensive field research this book is ideally suited for specialists in German and European politics and the interested reader who wants far more depth of coverage than the main stream media can provide.

"Why Americans Don't Vote is a well-crafted and well-executed piece of research. It stands as the best treatment of the topic, a topic that has received a good deal of attention. I recommend this book highly, both to those interested in understanding political participation and to those interested in modelling change in attitudes and behaviors generally." Contemporary Sociology

Based on a four year research project investigating voting behavior, "Topics In Social Choice" begins with the well-known premise that different voting procedures may lead to different outcomes. The author then fills a void in present literature by comparing voting procedures in terms of four issues: sophisticated versus sincere voting; sophisticated voters and simultaneous versus sequential voting; voter efficacy in plurality and approval voting; and the use of normative standards to compare outcomes. He proposes both a new model of sophisticated voting and normative standards for proportional representation procedures. This study addresses both the general reader interested in voting issues and the serious student of voting schemes, voting behavior, and social choice theory.

"Topics In Social Choice" is divided into three parts representing its three themes. It addresses theoretical and experimental aspects of sophisticated voting; the problem of efficacy and correct decision; and it concludes with an investigation of fair proportional representation. The volume represents the first attempt to address sophisticated and yet simultaneous voting. It is also the first to subject various voting models to competitive testing and provide a set of normative criteria for systems evaluation.

Originally published in 1972, this edition includes expanded sections on class and voting and elites and participation in modern democracy. Many popular misconceptions - about the militancy of party activists, the relations between MPs and constituents, the role of TV and the fairness of the electoral system - are critically examined. Equally important is the review of representational theories, from Greek to Victorian, in the light of what we know today about the workings of Parliament, the role of pressure groups and the mixture of rational and irrational motives in human behaviour. A range of twentieth century critiques, including those of Robert Michels, Joseph Schumpeter, Robert Dahl and Peter Bachrach is presented. Wherever possible, British experience is compared with that of the USA, continental Europe or the Commonwealth.

This book provides a concise and accessible account of the historical experience of European parliaments ? why different electoral systems were adopted, how they have functioned, how they have affected the development of political parties, and in what respects they have been found over time to be either suitable or unsatisfactory. The book begins with a summary of the main electoral systems, analysing and re-assessing each in the light of historical experience. The core of the book, however, is a country-by-country account of the systems which have operated in each of the main West European countries, in the context of their own constitutional, political and social developments.

The book extends research on the territorial structure of party systems (party nationalisation) to 20 post-communist democracies. It explains party nationalisation as a consequence of ethnically oriented politics, and shows how party nationalisation can increase our understanding of electoral systems.

The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties provides a systematic and comprehensive overview of the study of political parties provided by leading experts in the field. In an era of widespread political disillusionment, political parties are often the main targets of citizen dissatisfaction, yet they are the key institutions that make democracy work. Analysing political parties in unrivalled depth and breath, with comparative thematic chapters throughout, as well as a dedicated section on political parties and party politics in specific country and regional settings, this handbook examines and illuminates the key questions around: how parties organise; how their ideologies have evolved over time; their relationship with society; how they differentiate themselves and how they respond to new social, economic, and political developments. The Routledge Handbook of Political Parties is essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in and actively concerned about research in the study of political parties, party systems, and party politics.

Proposes both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Straddles multiple subject areas, including political philosophy, political history, democratization, and populism.

"Political Communications" offer a unique insight into the 2005 British General Election from the perspectives of those responsible for organizing, reporting, and understanding the campaign. It contains definitive accounts of what happened from those most intimately involved in preparing the main party strategies as well as leading academic, media and polling experts.

An intriguing analysis of the economy's influence on popular support for the incumbent American presidents in the post World War II period.

The revised 2nd edition of this successful textbook explores Japanese politics in the postwar era from theoretical and comparative perspectives. After providing historical context, it offers an in-depth exploration of postwar political institutions, political reform in the 1990s, the policymaking process, and the politics of economic growth and stagnation. By delving into Japan's international relations, the book sheds light on Japan's security and foreign policies, and Japan's role in Asia. The textbook concludes by addressing what has changed since party alternation in 2009, the triple disaster in March 2011 and the global Covid pandemic. Themes and questions addressed throughout the text include: How and why did Japan modernize so successfully when so many other countries fell prey to colonialism and authoritarianism? What explains the Japanese economic miracle and its subsequent economic stagnation? What accounts for Japan's successful democratization? In the international realm, why has Japan achieved economic superpower status without achieving political superpower status? What is the future trajectory of Japanese politics? Connecting Japan to larger themes in comparative politics and linking Japan's history, institutions, policymaking process, and international relations to experiences and structures in other countries, this book is essential reading for students of Japanese or Asian Politics.